Alone
by Komoflauge
Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough?  Sorry as of moment on Hiatus :
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Alone**

**Rating: T**

**Warning: Gore, some cursing. Eventual slash.  
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**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough?**

**Disclaimer: The show does not belong to me, neither do the characters. Both belong to their rightful owners.**

_I slammed my back against a wall, out of breath and terrified. My heart was trying to pound its way out of my chest._

_Clam down, Stiles. If you don't stay calm, he'll find you. He can smell fear and you've already left him a nice thick trail to follow._

_I let out a shaky breath and looked at the options I had left, which were very few. Run and die or stay and die, neither had the outcome I was looking for._

_Just when I thought all hope was lost, I remembered that my cell phone was with me. I hadn't realized how much I was shaking until I attempted to dial a number in. After several tries I eventually steadied my hand long enough to dial the correct number._

_"Come on. Pick up." Desperation laced my voice._

_The phone rang a few more times before someone answered._

_"What!" Scott sounded agitated._

_"Dude, I'm in trouble." I was trying to stay as calm as possible._

_"Can it wait? I'm busy right now." Scott's voice was snappy._

_"No it can't wait! What the hell is so important?"_

_"Scott, come on. Don't make me wait." _

_I knew that voice well, "Allison? Hell no I need you now!"_

_"Scott." Allison was calling his name seductively._

_"Mhm. Hey man I'm really busy. I'll call you when I'm done here."_

_"No, Scott, it's the Alpha! The Alpha is hunting me! Scott? Scott?" _

_I took the phone away from my ear, 'call ended'. There was no one else to call and I wasn't going to get my dad involved and killed. Derek would be an option, but stupid me never got his number, and now I'm going to die._

_I squeezed my eyes shut to try and keep the tears back. I'd rather die running than sit here and pray for someone to save me, when I know no one is coming._

_I stood up and wiped my eyes so I could look for a place to run. There was an exit not too far away from me. If I could get there without the Alpha catching on I could get out and run to a better hiding place. _

_I had distracted the Alpha with car alarms and made a separate trail to follow. The ending of that trail was my jacket, hopefully he was still distracted with that if not, then he's super pissed. _

_I took a deep breath and bolted for the exit. I was almost there when I heard the deep rumbling growl coming from my one escape. The Alpha slowly walked out on all fours, his eyes locked on me and teeth bared._

_"Shit!" I whipped around and as fast as I possibly could I ran. I don't know why I bothered; I knew I couldn't outrun him forever._

_That was exactly the case; within seconds, the Alpha had grabbed my ankle to bring me down. I plummeted face first onto the ground. I tried to scramble away, but I couldn't. Finally, I turned onto my back and just stared at him. _

_"Please don't kill me." Tears were falling down my cheeks._

_I had a good reason for tears because nothing I could say or do would make the Alpha not kill me, and I knew that all too well. I just couldn't help but beg. I guess it's a human reaction, faced with sudden danger, the only thing you can do is beg for your life. Even when you know, it'll do you nothing._

_"Please don't kill me." I was choking on my words._

_The Alpha slowly crawled on top of me so it was towing over my body. _

_"Please." My voice was but a whisper._

_A howl was the response I got, followed by him digging his claws into my flesh. I could feel the chunks of flesh he was ripping off, along with the deeps gashes. He mangled up my body before he finally went in for the kill._

_"No. No. Please. No." My body was so mangled, I couldn't move, I was just numb. There was a puddle of blood around my body, along with the chunks of flesh the Alpha had clawed off me. _

_Again, the Alpha responded with only a howl that turned into a snarl when he lunged for my throat. _

_His teeth sunk into my throat and I could feel myself choking on my own blood. Seconds later he had my throat ripped out; blood flowed out like a fountain. The seconds it took before I finally passed out were agonizing, but what was worse was seeing my body. I was horrified at the scene in front of me, I was dead and here I was staring at my own body._

"No!" I threw my head down and grasped it with both my hands covering my ears.

I bolted straight up screaming. Seconds after I woke up my dad came running into my room.

It was one of those nights where my dad actually got to be home with me. Though with what's been happening lately it wasn't often enough.

"Are you all right?" My dad sat on the edge of my bed and pulled me into a hug.

"No." I hadn't realized I was crying until my voice cracked.

"Another nightmare?" My dad stroked the back of my head with his thumb as a way to soothe me, to tell me he was here; there was nothing to be afraid of.

If only he knew, I had everything to be afraid of. If only he knew what was out there killing those people and terrorizing my dreams.

"Thanks, Dad." I pulled out of his grip on me.

"Are you sure you're fine? This isn't the first night you've woken up like this."

I knew my dad was concerned. He probably felt guilty that he couldn't be there for me as much as he wanted to be. It killed him even more now that mom wasn't around to comfort me, I was truly on my own in his eyes and it hurt him to have to think that.

"I'm sure. You don't have to worry. Its just been rough since the murders started. I'm just on edge. I'm sure it'll pass eventually." I gave him a weak smile.

"All right." My dad turned to leave the room, but stopped in the doorway, "I love you, Stiles."

"I love you too, Dad."

I waited a few minutes before I got up and headed to the bathroom. I splashed cold water over my face in hopes of cooling myself down. Eventually I walked back to my room, but before I got back, in bed, I stripped my t-shirt and pajama pants off, leaving me in just my boxers.

I sighed, I had to go to school tomorrow and deal with everyone's problems all over again. I would neglect telling Scott about my dream, I always did. He was enough trouble as it was, but he was my best friend and I didn't want to give him anything else to worry about.

**This was my first fic, and I'm planning on making chapters out of this. It'll take me a while to think of things because my brain doesn't want to work with me, or it'll work and give me the most pointless of story plots. So reviews and comments are welcomed.**


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Alone

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one.**

**Summary:****Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough?**

**Warning: Cursing**

_"Police are still on the hunt for Derek Hale, the person they believe committed the string of murders. The trail has gone cold for them, but the search for Derek Hale has not halted."_

I growled as I brought my fist down on the 'off' button of my alarm clock.

"Really, you couldn't of just played music?"

I felt like shit, it was partially my fault the police were even hunting Derek. I'm not the one who called out to the Alpha and almost got Derek killed, nor am I the one who threw Derek under the bus, but when my dad asked Scott and I what happened in the school I didn't stop Scott from planting everything on Derek.

As much as it pissed me off that Scott threw Derek down there so easily, I don't blame him. I wasn't about to tell my dad, _'Oh it wasn't Derek who killed all these people, it was a big bad werewolf Alpha and he's only doing it because he wants Scott in his pack.'_ Because that doesn't sound like I need medication at all.

I stood up and headed to the bathroom to take a shower and brush my teeth. When I was done and dressed, I headed downstairs for breakfast.

Yes, I'm one of those people who brush their teeth, then eat. I figure that you're going to have to eat eventually and your teeth are going to get dirty anyway, why not just get it over with? Though I always carry a pack of mint gum with me, so my breath stays minty fresh.

My breakfast was a simple bowl of cereal and as always, I was spending breakfast time alone. My dad was usually always gone before I even woke up, so it wasn't surprising that he wasn't here this morning either.

It was upsetting that I didn't get as much quality time with my dad as I wished, but what was even more upsetting was that he was always out looking for the 'killer'.

It worried me so much and every time a dead body was reported, found, I was terrified that it would be my dad's. If my dad got hurt or worse killed, I wouldn't know what to do. He's the only thing I have left.

I shook the thought from my head and poured out the remaining milk, filling up the bowl with water before leaving it in the sink.

I raced up stairs, grabbed one of my striped button up shirts and flung it over my plain white tee like a jacket. I snatched my keys off my computer desk before I bounded back downstairs and out the door with my backpack.

Every time I flipped the ignition on, the sound of my engine roaring to life brought a small smile to my lips.

I shifted into reverse and backed out of my driveway, then quickly shifted back into drive and headed off to school.

When I got to school, I pulled into a parking space and just sat there. I stared at the front doors of the school, psyching myself up enough to actually step out of the car.

_Come on what's the worst that can happen? No! Never ask that, as soon as you ask that everything goes wrong. Bad Stiles!_

I was mentally kicking myself in the groin when I heard the first bell go off. Well then, whether I as ready or not for what was in store for me today, I really had no choice but to grab my bag and hustle into the building.

The second bell went off right as I ran through my classroom door.

"It's nice of you to decide to join us this morning, Mr. Stilinski, and just in the nick of time to avoid another detention."

"No problem Mr. Swea-, yeah no problem." I corrected myself just in time.

"Mr. Swea-, what?" The teacher raised his eyebrows at me.

"It's nothing as important as the knowledge I came here to learn."

I was given a strange look as he went to finish taking attendance.

_Oh my god, that was close. You're an idiot, Stiles._

I slouched down in my chair and began tapping my pen on my notebook Mr. Sweater vest was babbling on about something, but no one was really listening.

"Hey, Stiles?" Scott whispered just loud enough to gain my attention.

"What's up?" I turned my head and leaned a little closer in Scott's direction.

"Nothing yet, where the hell were you this morning?" Scott's brow wrinkled up into a frown.

"I was sitting in my jeep until the first bell went off. I was just running through things in my head."

"Like what?"

"Nothing important."

Scott seemed concerned, but I knew if I told him all the things that were really going through my head he'd be pissed off with me. He wouldn't listen to what I said anyway. It'd go in one ear and out the other, especially if it had to do with Allison.

"You're lying, your heartbeat sped up." I could hear the change in Scott's voice, it went from curious to serious.

"Look, I just don't want to-"

"McCall, Stilinski, this is class time, not gossip time. If I have to warn you two, again you'll owe me two nice helpings of detention. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir." I slumped even lower into my seat, hoping it would hide me away from all the eyes that shot my direction.

I caught Scott giving me an odd stare the rest of the period. I knew that I was going to hear something when class got out, because all I hear these days are bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch.

I shoved all my things into my backpack seconds before the bell went off. As the sound blared through the speaker, I shot up and out of class, stopping on the other side of the door to wait for Scott.

Scott finally stepped out of the classroom and we started walking down the hall. Neither of us said a word to one another, and I soon realized why Scott wasn't pestering me.

I was actually angry, even though I didn't want to talk about what was wrong I couldn't believe he was still so damn concentrated on himself.

"You're still listening in on her conversations?"

"Jackson." The undertone of his voice was riddled with venom as the name slipped through his lips.

"Stop listening, don't pay attention. Stalking her and trying to kill her and Jackson isn't going to solve anything."

"What the hell do you know about all this? You don't have a girlfriend or anything to loose! None of what's happened has a thing to do with you!"

"You're an ass."

I rammed my shoulder into his as I stormed past him.

"Stiles, I didn't mean it! Stiles, I'm sorry!"

Asshole. I obviously know more about it than you do, and I'm not the werewolf. If it weren't mostly for me, you'd be fucked.

I ran through everything I've done for Scott since he got bit, and a lot of shit was avoided because of me. Scott's even almost killed me because I was trying to help him!

Sure, Derek is here every now and then, to 'help' Scott, but does Scott ever listen? No. So, I end up saving the day, but do I ever get a 'thank you' or a 'you saved my life' from either of them? No, they just brush it off and go back to being super cool werewolves that are too damn good to thank a human for saving their Asses.

So, yeah I'm beyond pissed that Scott had the audacity to say None of this has to do with me or that I have nothing to lose, because what the hell does he know? He knows nothing.

I'm sure he doesn't even know that I still stay up hours every night trying to figure out what I can do to help him. I've looked up ways to kill the Alpha, what to use to weaken him, and I still feel like I haven't done enough for him.

I work my ass off to make sure he doesn't do something he's going to regret, but in the end, it doesn't matter. He won't listen to reason, he'll do it his way or he'll wolf out on you.

So, really, no matter what I do for Scott, hell even for Derek, I'm still the just the 'sidekick'.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Alone

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Warning: Cursing**

**Summary****: ****Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough?**

**Thanks to VCCV for being the best beta in the world!**

It was my study period, so I was in the library. I found this surprising, because the only time I ever willingly set foot in a library was to look things up for Scott. This time, however, I wasn't there to look things up for him, but to avoid him. I hadn't spoken to him since this morning. In truth, I'd been avoiding him all morning.

I sighed at the papers strewn out in front of me. Why did history have to be so boring?

I couldn't care less about the Civil War. Really, I thought both sides were being dicks about things. Speaking of dicks, a bag dropped on the table in front of me. I didn't move my head, instead I darted my eyes up to see who it was. I wasn't thrilled with the sight, so I went on writing.

"I've been looking for you all day, man." Scott pulled out the chair across from me and sat down.

I didn't respond just continued with my paper.

"You're still angry at me for this morning." He wasn't so much asking a question as he was stating the obvious.

"I didn't mean to snap at you," Scott lowered his voice. "Hell, I didn't even think of what I was saying when I was saying it." He paused like he was looking for what to say next, "I'm sorry, Stiles."

"Hmph." I wasn't planning on saying a word.

"If you're not going to talk to me, then at least look at me." Scott reached for my hand. I moved my hand before Scott could grab it, but set my pencil down and reluctantly made eye contact. "Thank you." Scott smiled. I raised my eyebrows, chewed the inside of my lip and tapped my fingers impatiently. The look I was giving Scott wasn't reassuring. "Okay, you're really pissed."

_Again, stating the obvious._

"Since you aren't going to say anything, I'll get right down to my question." Scott paused again for my reply. He didn't get one "All right. I'm going out tonight, and I need your help."

_Of course, you need my help, because the only time I'm useful is when you need something._ I didn't answer. If he wanted my help, he was going to have to actually form a question.

"Dude, I said I was-"

"I get it. You said you were sorry. Great. What the hell do you want me to say?"

"How about that you don't hate me, because it sure seems like you hate me," he said plaintively.

"You know that I don't hate you. You're my best friend." I used the word 'best' lightly, because at times, he really just seemed like every other friend that mooched off of me.

"Then why are you so angry about things?" He sounded confused.

"I'm angry about things because I don't get the credit I deserve!" I snapped. "I stick my neck out for you all the time, but you don't acknowledge half the shit I do for you. It gets tiring."

"I'm sorry. I never realized you felt that way." A guilty look crept over his face.

"My point exactly, you never 'realized'."

"I really do appreciate every thing you've done for me," he said, earnestly.

"Maybe you should tell me every now and again, then. It would be nice to hear 'Good job, Stiles. You really did great out there.'"

"I know, and I'm sorry that I haven't given you the credit that you deserve." Scott looked like I'd just kicked his favorite puppy.

_Good, I hope you feel like the biggest prick in the world, because you kind or were acting like it._ I sat back, crossing my arms.

Scott grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something down on it before handing it to me. "That's the place I'll be, if you decide to come." He stood up and grabbed his bag. "I'm sorry." He walked away and left me to talk to myself.

"God dammit, Scott." I threw my head back and buried my face in the paper. "Why do you always do this to me?"

I looked at the piece of paper in my hand, trying to figure out what to do. Coming up with nothing, I shoved it in my pocket, frustrated.

School had ended hours ago, and I found myself lying on my bed, fiddling with a Rubik's cube, and staring at the ceiling. I had gone through the conversation Scott and I'd had a million times in my head. I thought about everything he said. He looked so desperate it was hard for me to hate him. They way he left was what I was really stuck on, though.

_'That's the place I'll be, if you decide to come.'_

"Fuck!" I bolted up and chucked the Rubik's cube against the wall. It exploded as it hit, gouging a hole out of the wall before pieces flew everywhere.

_Why the hell did he have to make this so hard?_

Pissed or not, if I didn't help him, who would? My mind flitted to the only other person who could back up Scott. Unfortunately, I didn't know if he was still alive. My heart dropped into my stomach. I knew Derek had been alive long enough to get in his car and drive away, but that didn't mean he couldn't have bled out in his car before he could heal.

I hadn't seen him since that night. There wasn't a single trace of him. I don't know how many times I went to his house and waited, just hoping that he'd show up.

I pinched the bridge of my nose before I reached into my pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper.

I didn't want to go, but if Scott got hurt because I wasn't there to help, I wouldn't forgive myself. I sighed in exasperation.

I slowly slid off the bed until my feet hit the floor, and I heaved myself up. Pissed I snatched my keys off my computer tower and headed out to my jeep. The drive was quiet, and tension built inside my head the closer I got to Scott's meeting place. I came to a stop across the street from the parking garage and frowned at the concrete wall shielding the cars.

_Why does this place seem so familiar?_

It brought to mind blood, pain and fear. I remembered begging; I remembered dying.

I snapped back to reality and realized I was gripping the steering wheel so hard, my knuckles turned white. I pulled my key out of the ignition and took a deep breath before I opened my door and stepped out into the oddly cold night.

I tucked my hands into my coat pockets before jogging across the street and into the entrance. I could hear the echo of my steps bouncing off the walls as I walked around. This place was creepy as hell at night.

"Scott?" I called a bit desperately, still shaken from the memories of my dream. "I really don't like it here. Come on, where are you, Scott?" I didn't like the way my voice drew attention to me, so I just decided to stop calling and wait. I bounced up and down a few times to try to shake the cold away. I was so focused on the cold that I wasn't expecting the hand gripping my shoulder. I shrieked and hit the ground. When I wasn't immediately disemboweled, I looked up to see Scott doubled over trying to hold back laughter.

"What the hell?" My voice went up an octave. "You scared the piss out of me!" I popped back up to my feet and shoved him.

"You… you screamed like a little girl." Scott collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"Not cool," I said pissily.

"I know." Scott was trying to contain his laughter.

"Where were you?" I demanded.

Scott finally got control over his giggles. "I was looking for you. I wasn't sure if you'd come."

"Yeah, I wasn't sure if I'd come either. I didn't want you to do something stupid and me not be there to save your ass," I added snarkily.

"Thanks man. It means a lot that you came." Scott gave me his dorkiest smile and I couldn't help, but grin back at him.

"So, exactly what are we doing?" I rubbed my hands together, anxious to get this over with.

"I'm not sure really."

"What, do you mean you're not sure?" My voice cracked. "Then why the hell are we here?" I couldn't believe Scott hadn't a clue what we were doing.

"We're here because I was asked to be." Scott looked around the parking garage.

"By who?" Again, my voice raised an octave.

Scott ignored me, his head cocked as if he were listening to something I couldn't hear.

"Scott!" Fear raced through my body. I trusted Scott, but that trust was wearing very thin right now. "Scott, why the hell-"

"Shh, here he comes."

I looked around frantically, trying to see what Scott heard.

"Between his screaming like a girl and you laughing your ass off, I think the quiet entry is kind of pointless, now." The familiar voice echoed off the walls.

My heart skipped a beat as the speaker finally appeared.

_Derek._


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Alone

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Warning: Cursing**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough?**

**A BIG thanks to VCCV for being an awesome beta! Thank you!**

_He's alive._

My eyes widened and my breath hitched in my throat. I couldn't believe Derek was really standing here. A strange warm feeling washed over me. I was relieved to see him, of course, but this was more. Like, fluttery happiness rolled up in actual fear that he'd just disappear again. I didn't like that feeling, and without even thinking, I walked towards him and threw myself into a hug. His arms flew out to the side as if to prove he had no part in the weirdness.

"What the hell are you doing?" His voice had an edge to it.

I closed my eyes and ignored him. I kind of liked being this close. I was able to smell the light scent of smoke lingering in his leather jacket, probably from all the time he spent in his house. His aftershave reminded me of the forest; it smelt very woodsy, but it wasn't a very strong scent. The shampoo he used left the smell of mint in his hair. It was an unusual scent to connect to him, but it was my favorite.

My inner catalog of Derek's smells was brought to an end when Derek pushed me away from him, his expression hovering somewhere between annoyed and confused. I smiled sheepishly and turned to Scott, who hadn't yet said a word, and he didn't look that surprised, either. The fluttery happy feeling was gone in an instant, replaced by a surprising anger.

"You knew he was alive?"

"Yeah, for a few days now." Scott answered nonchalantly, shrugging as though people who were gutted by werewolf claws and disappeared for days were a commonplace thing.

"And you didn't bother telling me!" I was pissed; He once again neglects telling me the important details.

"I didn't think you cared." Scott raised his voice defensively.

"Derek's alive, and you don't think I'd care to know that?" I demanded incredulously.

"Why do you care about Derek so much?" Scott yelled back at me.

"I don't!" That was a complete lie, but really, I hadn't figured out why I cared so much myself.

"Really? So you're yelling at me about this for no reason at all?" Scott shot back angrily.

"I have a-"

"Shut up!" Derek growled, cutting me off. So, happy fluttery feelings aside, Derek was kind of scary when he growled. "Finally." Derek momentarily squeezed his eyes shut as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Now that you two are done bickering like a married couple, why don't we get down to business?"

I shot an evil look in Scott's direction. "Fine. What 'business' exactly are we doing here?"

Derek snarled, his eyes flashing that werewolfy blue. His upper lipped curled, showing for a moment a flash of white canine. "If you'd shut up, I could tell you."

"Right." I took a few steps away from the snarly werewolf.

"We're here because I need your help looking for clues. I could do it on my own, but it'll go faster with the three of us."

"What kind of clues?" I slapped my hand over my mouth when I saw Derek's jaw clench.

"I was getting there," he said through gritted teeth. "This is the last place the Alpha can be traced to, so we're looking for anything that will tell us where he is now."

"Were here to track the Alpha?" I looked disbelievingly at Derek.

"We're only here to look for clues, " Scott said pointedly.

"Exactly." Derek nodded to him. "The quickest way to get this done is for the three of us to split up. Scott, you take-"

"Wait, what?" I interrupted. "You want to split up? Are you insane?" My voice got higher with each question.

"Stiles, if you don't want to do this you can leave." I couldn't decide if Scott was trying to placate me or piss me off.

"No, I want to. It's just…" I looked down at the ground, at a loss for words.

"It's just, what?" Scott asked, actual concern on his face.

Suddenly, the smell of blood hit me. I was choking on it; drowning in it. A flash of dark fur, white fangs, red eyes…. I shuddered a tiny bit as the parking garage swam back into focus.

"Nothing, it's nothing." I gave a weak smile.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Scott asked, his brows meeting in a frown. I halfheartedly nodded my head. He didn't seem too convinced, but as usual, he didn't delve too deeply into anything that wasn't about him. He grinned and slapped me on the back. "All right. So then, what are we supposed to look for, Derek?"

I glanced at Derek. He didn't look anymore convinced than Scott, but his frown didn't disappear when I nodded. If anything, it got deeper. I shifted uncomfortably and dropped my gaze.

"Just look for anything out of the ordinary." Derek answered. "Are we ready, yet?" He sent me a questioning look.

"Yeah, let's go." Scott turned immediately and walked away. Derek was a little slower, and he kept glancing back at me. Finally, I just turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Once out of sight, it didn't take too long before I realized I was completely out of my depth. Derek had told us to look for things 'out of the ordinary', but what the hell did that mean? To me this place looked like every other parking garage out there: old, dirty, and slowly crumbling apart. I didn't have any werewolf supersenses to sniff the alpha out. I couldn't even climb to half the places the alpha would have been. Damn werewolves, crawling up buildings and hopping from rooftops.

Soon my irritation was replaced with another, creepier feeling the longer I walked. I continued and decided not to dwell on the feeling for too long, but trying not to think about it only made me think about it more. Eventually, after a plastic bag rustling in the wind nearly caused me to wet my pants, I decided this solo Robin gig wasn't for me. So, instead of looking for clues I went looking for Derek and Scott.

I tried to stay calm, cool and collected. I had only taken a few steps forward when something darted across my vision; I froze and stared down the empty lane. I could feel my hear pounding in my chest, and each time it hit, I felt like I was being smothered. I felt lightheaded and couldn't catch my breath. Everything around me sounded muffled and my vision tunneled.

At the end of that darkening tunnel, I saw bright red eyes appear. The tunnel receded enough that I could make out the entire form the eyes were attached to.

This isn't happening; it can't be happening. I wanted to blink, to run, but my body wouldn't respond to me. The only thing I could do was stare at my killer.

_Oh my God, I'm going to die._


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Alone

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Warning: Cursing, blood**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough.**

**Thanks to VCCV for the Grammar Nazi she is, and for being my beta.**

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force my body to move. The Alpha and I just stared at each other. I couldn't tell if he was preparing to jump at me, or if he found me a pointless kill. My question was answered when a low rumbling snarl resounded through his chest. My mind screamed for my body to run, but my limbs refused to comply.

The Alpha's claws scraped against the ground as he approached me. His speed picked up with each step he took, quickly closing the gap between us. This was going to be the end; I was going to die begging for my life, and choking on my blood. The Alpha took the last dive, but before he could sink his claws into me, something rammed him to the side.

My eyes, still the only thing I could move, followed the Alpha, and I could see him rolling around with another form attached to him. The other form was obscured by the Alpha's large stature, but between the two of them twisting around trying to gain the upper hand, I caught glimpses of black leather.

"Derek!" Suddenly, I could move again. I took a few steps forward, not sure, what exactly it was that I planned to do, but scared as hell for Derek.

The Alpha snapped at Derek's throat, and to avoid instant death, Derek managed to shove his forearm into the Alpha's jaw. He let out a howl of pain as the Alpha sank his teeth in. With the other hand, Derek punched the Alpha in the face, repeatedly.

Finally, the Alpha's jaws released with a growl, and Derek jerked his arm back. The momentum spun them around, and Derek caught a glimpse of me frantically hovering on the sidelines. He looked momentarily confused before his features settled into the more predictable, 'Stiles, you're a moronic twit!'

"Stiles run!" Derek yelled, bringing his knee up into the Alpha's chest. It pushed the Alpha back enough that Derek go in another few hits to its head.

Now Derek had the upper hand, but we both knew, as a beta, he wouldn't have it for long.

"Get the hell out of here!" he snapped, ducking a clawed swing that could easily have taken his face off. He glanced over at me again, and I realized I was doing more harm than good by distracting him.

So, I ran. I couldn't just leave Derek to fight the Alpha on his own, but maybe two betas could take the Alpha down. I frantically started to look for Scott. How far could he have gotten, and how the hell can he not hear the 'animal fight'. The more distance I put between the brawl, the more it did sound like a dogfight, but really? A dogfight while looking for Alpha clues? Come on, Scott! Where the hell was he?

"Scott!" I didn't have the time to play hide-and-go-seek with him. "Scott!" I turned yelling his name through cupped hands. "Where the hell are you!"

"What?" Scott peered over the balcony of the parking garage. I could see his eyes widen even from four floors away, as he finally recognized the dogfight for what it was. "Are you all right?" Scott looked down at me worriedly.

"I'm fine, but that's not the problem." I threw a glance in the direction I'd come. "The Alpha showed up. Derek distracted it, gave me the chance to run, but I know he can't fight that thing alone." Frustration raised my voice until I actually felt shrill, and the longer I talked, the less likely it was the Derek would get out alive.

Scott seemed to figure it out, though, because he pointed a forceful finger at me. "Stay here, Stiles," he ordered sternly, his eyes flashing yellow, as he leaped. He didn't land quite as gracefully as Derek, hitting the ground and rolling to his feet, but I was pretty sure tonight was about quantity, not quality. He shot off in the direction I had come from.

I waited a few minutes, listening to the growling and yelping increase as Scott joined the fight. _Here_, I was absolutely useless, but _there_, just maybe I could do something to help. Anything to help. The thought of abandoning my best friend and my… Derek made me sick.

I took off full speed back towards the noise. Even before seeing the combatants, I could see how much damage had been done. The concrete had large dips smashed into it, and chunks of it were splayed everywhere. Lights were broken and flickering, and the few cars that were still in the garage were completely ruined, hoods smashed and glass littering the ground.

Not too far away, Derek and Scott were both wolfed out and trying to tag team the Alpha. Derek lunged at the Alpha, sinking his claws into its throat. The Alpha stood up onto its hind legs, lifting Derek up off the ground. Scott took the chance and dove at the Alpha attempting to throw him off balance. The Alpha, however, ripped Derek's claws from his throat, hurling him into the ground, and then threw his arm out and nailed Scott in the stomach as Scott flew towards him. The impact corrected Scott's direction in mid-air, and he sailed back. Unfortunately, Scott hit headfirst. He was out cold before he even touched the ground; his face slowly transformed back into human features. And Derek was alone again.

Derek attempted to push himself to his feet, but fell right back down, his legs refusing to support his weight. The front of his shirt had claw marks ripped down the chest, and blood had soaked through the fabric, turning Derek's black shirt even darker. The only other visible wound was the bite on his forearm, but there was too much blood to tell if there were hidden injuries. And internal damage was just as bad as the claw or bite marks. Visible damage or not, from the way Derek was moving, I could see that he had gotten the shit kicked out of him.

The Alpha's attention had gone right back to Derek after he was done with Scott. Derek successfully got to his feet, but it looked like he'd used the last of his strength to get there. He swayed in place and blinked slowly. The Alpha bared his teeth in what I'm hoping wasn't a wolfy version of a laugh, because werewolf teeth? Scary. At this rate, the Alpha would rip Derek to pieces and Derek could do nothing to stop him.

Trying not to think what a suicidal moron I was, I snatched up a chunk of concrete at my feet, and hurled it at the Alpha.

"Hey, Bitch Boy!" I'd wanted to pull the Alpha's attention away from Derek, to give Derek those extra few seconds to snap out of it, but I really hadn't thought about where that would put me, until now. The Alpha whipped around to face me and growled. I couldn't have hurt him, but I'm sure having a teenage boy throwing rocks at you would kind of be embarrassing to a big, bad Alpha. Speaking of big, bad Alphas… "Oh, fuck."

Adrenaline rushed through my body as I sprinted away, the Alpha distracted away from Derek, and now, not too far behind me. This could possibly be the last day that anyone sees me breathing. All anyone is going to find is a mangled corpse.

Snapshots of my dream ran through my head, and in-between the screaming and begging and blood, I remembered that ditching my coat had given me more time to run. I struggled to get my arms out and hurled it to the right as far away from me as I could get, then took my own sharp turn to the left.

I lost track of how far I'd run, or even where the hell I was at this point, but other than my wheezing, I couldn't hear anything more. The skittering claws on the concrete and the continuous low growl I'd heard for the last however many floors was gone. I knew if I didn't stop, I would pass out. It was stupid to stop, and I knew it. I couldn't help but think of the horror movies I watched, where everyone who stopped ended up dead. I was just really hoping this wasn't going to turn into one of those slasher films.

I bent over, resting my hands on my knees as I gasped for air, and glanced around me. My gasping abruptly stopped. All breathing abruptly stopped. I think my heart might have joined in. The position I was in seemed like déjà vu. There the entrance was, just off to my left. I could get there within seconds, but I knew what was waiting for me for me if I tired to make the escape. So, I ran to the right, farther into the parking garage.

I threw glances behind my back, so focused on being followed that I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Even so, I wasn't expecting to run into something big, warm, and breathing.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Alone

**Rating: T**

**Warning: Cursing, Blood**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough.**

**Thanks to VCCV for being my beta. You've helped me out a lot.**

I filled my lungs air, hoping it wouldn't be the last time, and tried to scream, but my cry was muffled with incredible force. Terror raced through my body, and I shoved at the larger figure. And he went. My brows met in a frown. That was too easy. I turned, expecting to see burning red eyes and bared canines. What I saw was Derek, staggering backwards, trying to stay on his feet. My eyes widened, and I flicked my hands out to grasp the front of his leather jacket, pulling him back towards me, trying to keep him upright. His nails dug into my shoulders, using me as leverage to keep his balance.

"You were going to scream like a girl, weren't you?" Derek's voice was barely above a whisper. He chuckled, but it didn't mask the pain.

"I don't scream like a girl," I answered automatically. "How'd you manage to get up here? You couldn't even walk three steps, let alone the ten bazillion it probably took to find me! How did you find me? Did you use your wolfy senses? Did you see the Alpha? I threw my coat as a distraction, but if you could find me, he could find me, right? Where is he, then? Is he still here?" I admit I might have sounded a bit panicked by that point, but I don't think my concern merited having Derek's half-hairy hand slapped over my mouth again.

"Shut up, Stiles." Derek's grip on my shoulder tightened as he tried to shake me one-handedly, but even that small movement, sent him teetering towards me, then away, his balance still off. I pulled him closer and tried to remind myself that moments away from being horrifically killed was not the time to indulge in his closeness.

His hand dropped from my mouth and weakly fell to his side. He looked like he was about to pass out any second. If he did, I had no idea how the hell I was going to drag his ass back down to the jeep by myself, while being hunted by the Alpha. I needed help.

"Where's Scott?" I asked. The last time I saw him, he was facedown and unconscious, but werewolves shook that off pretty quickly… right?

Derek gave a short laugh, which sounded more like a gurgle, to be honest. How much could a werewolf bleed out, anyway? "Scott's ass is shoved behind the passenger seat in your jeep. Which is where you need to be while the Alpha is distracted." He had to take a moment to catch his breath.

Derek tried to push me into moving, but all he managed to do was tip me to the right a little; he was too weak at this point to do _anything_ on his own. I lifted his hands off my shoulders, and ducked under them. I pulled his arm over my shoulder wincing as the movement made him suck in a quick, pained breath, and wrapped my arm around his waist.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice high and thready.

"Saving your life. _Again_." I stated, tugging him forward to shut him up.

I pretty much dragged Derek through the parking garage, carrying the brunt of his weight. Holy shit he was heavy! It was all I could do to keep us both upright and moving. I hoped the Alpha would at least wait for me to drop Derek off before coming to eat me. Everything was going fine until Derek decided he wanted to play tug-a-war.

"Moving isn't making this any easier," I said irritably.

"I can walk…on my own," he protested, gasping out the last bit as we stumbled. He weakly pushed himself away from me, wobbled a bit and then fell back into me.

"Well, if you can, you've done a poor job of convincing me." I pulled his arm back around my shoulders.

"Just go on ahead of me. I can get out on my own." He once again tried to push me away, but this time I held him firmly in place.

"Why the hell are you being so stubborn?" I snapped. "Is it to protect your badass werewolf rep?"

"No." Derek's eyes darted up to mine, and he looked taken aback. "That's not the reason at all."

I waited patiently for about ten seconds, then huffed in annoyance and started dragging him again. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me the reason?" I don't know why I bothered asking; I already knew the answer.

Derek grunted at my rough handling and lurched forward, almost throwing me off balance as he tried to help me help him. I took it as his way of saying the conversation was done.

Now that I had Derek and basic walking skills to focus on, I realized I was slightly less terrified. I still thought the Alpha was going to jump out of every shadow, but whatever distraction Derek had provided seemed to be working. There was no sign of the Alpha. The rest of the walk was quiet, besides the occasional sound of Derek's feet dragging on the concrete. He tried as hard as he could to stay on his own feet, but he was only able to manage a step here and there.

I felt much better when we finally got outside the parking garage. Being outside the garage seemed to make my dream more like a dream and less like déjà vu. I was relieved to see my jeep sitting on the other side of the road. I tugged Derek the rest of the way there, practically carrying him now. I leaned him up against the frame of the vehicle so I could pull the passenger side door open. I heaved him into the seat and slammed the door.

As I climbed in, I could see Scott's foot poking up out of the back seat where Derek had crammed him. "Scott looks comfortable." I said sarcastically. I turned to look at Derek; he was still awake but just barely. Certainly not enough to appreciate my humor.

I began rummaging through my pockets for my keys. Front pockets, back pockets, nothing. "Where the hell'd they go?" I muttered. Then I realized the only place they could be.

I let out a frustrated sigh and threw my door open. My left leg was the only thing that made it out the door before Derek's hand shot out to grab my wrist. He was so weak that I could have broken his hold, but I couldn't bring myself to when I saw his hand shaking. His grip on my wrist slowly loosened. He was battling himself to stay conscious his eyes closing and then snapping back open.

"Stiles," he rasped. It looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't have the energy to form words.

"I'll be back," I reassured him. "I have to find my keys." I wished I knew how to jump-start a car. Going back into that building was right below 'dying' on my list of things not to do. I climbed the rest of the way out of my jeep, Derek's hand sliding limply off my wrist. I left my door open, giving Derek's still form one last concerned frown, and headed back across the road. I hesitated out on the sidewalk; staring at the concrete death trap, I'd just made it out of. I hoped whatever Derek had done would keep the Alpha occupied a little longer, because if I didn't find those keys, none of us would be able to leave.

I pulled myself together and stepped into the strip of dirt that divided the ramp of the garage and sidewalk. As I lifted my foot up to take another step, the slight jingle of metal traveled to my ears. I could have passed out in relief. I looked down, and lo and behold, there were my keys. I knelt down to scoop them up, and then I paused absently fiddling with my keys. Something didn't feel right.

I remembered shoving my hands into my coat pockets when I arrived, depositing my keys in their usual spot. I remembered them jingling as I ran from the Alpha. I remembered ditching my coat to throw the Alpha off.

My eyes widened in revelation.

"Shit!"

Panicked, I popped up like a spring, only to catch my foot on my other leg. I skidded in the dirt, landing on my ass. The only thing I successfully managed was to keep hold of my keys. I untangled my legs and tried to push myself up when I felt fear skitter over my back like a living thing. Slowly, I turned to look at the entrance.

The Alpha stood, a menacing figure in the darkened entryway, eyes glowing a dark red. He didn't hesitate. He just went in for the kill.

He crossed the expanse of the ramp in the blink of an eye. Frantically, I scrambled for something useful. I scraped up a fistful of dirt, and fought dirty. The dirt hit the Alpha's eyes and the evil red faltered for a moment. He reeled back, yelping and rubbing at his eyes.

I flew to my feet and back to my jeep, terrifyingly aware that a fistful of dirt wasn't going to stop the Alpha for long. I dove in, slammed the door and shoved the key into the ignition. I actually felt tears of joy as the engine roared to life. I dropped it into gear and shot a glance towards the entrance.

_Fuck. Where the hell was he?_

The driver's side window shattered. Instinctively I ducked to avoid the shard of glass flying everywhere. Instinct served me well as the Alpha had made a grab for me when I ducked, he still snagged me, his claws sinking into my back but he'd missed taking my head off.

"Fuck!" I screamed as four lines of fire erupted on my back. I slapped vainly at the huge, hairy-clawed hand and slammed my foot down on the gas. The hand slipped out of the jeep and the tires screeched as I laid rubber. I drove like hell, screeching around corners and driving through alleys, trying to lose the damn behemoth. Ridiculously, I thought about the call my dad was going to get while he was on patrol. Destruction of property. Disturbing the peace. Unleashed pet. I laughed a bit insanely and prayed the Alpha was done for the night.

After an absurd number of corners and alleys, it was clear that the Alpha was no longer behind us. I drove the rest of the way to my house. By that time, I was hunched forward, the claw mark sending shockwaves of pain up my back. I pulled into my driveway and killed the engine. A quick glance showed both werewolves were still out cold. Heading to the other side of the jeep, I flung open the passenger door, Derek's body slid out and I just barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

Since he was half thrown over my shoulder anyway, I grabbed his arm and heaved him up over my back. The claw marks screamed in agony, but I managed to make it through the front door. Then the next obstacle reared its head: the stairs. I grabbed Derek under the arms and clumsily dragged him step by step up to my room. I finally dumped him just inside the door before heading out to get Scott. Scott was easy to get inside, he weighed half the weight of what Derek did but I had to get him unwedged first. I dropped him next to Derek and collapsed on the floor near them. I wanted to just roll over and go to sleep; hoping this shitty, shitty night was all part of another dream.

Unfortunately, the growing red patches on Derek's shirt told me differently. If I didn't get the two of them cleaned up, fast, not only would there be a huge bloodstain in my carpet I'd have to explain to my dad, but Derek wouldn't have enough blood left in him to heal. Their clothes came off quickly enough with the judicious help of scissors, though I didn't dare cut Derek's leather jacket.

When the two of them were clad in only their boxers, I could get a closer look at the damage. Derek's two major wounds, the ones leaking blood like a sieve onto my carpet were the claw marks on his chest and the bite on his forearm. I found out by trying to put pressure on the wounds, all they really needed was to be pushed closed to begin knitting on their own. Once I was assured Derek wasn't going to die on me, I turned my attention to the rest of him. There were little things like the bruises on his knuckles, and occasional cuts and scrapes, but overall, his body was taking care of him quite nicely. I went through most of the washcloths, gently cleaning the blood from Derek's chest. When I finished cleaning the dirt and blood away, I propped him up to wrap a bandage around his torso, then turned to Scott.

Scott had a large bruise forming across his abdomen from the Alpha's arm, and a large lump from where his head hit the wall. I couldn't find any gaping wounds, just small scrapes and cuts, so I soaked a washcloth in water, and wiped the dirt and blood from his face. I scrubbed his knuckles and saw the bruises forming and suddenly, I had no idea why I'd been so mad at him. He could have died. They both could have died. Fuck, I could have died!

I threw a blanket over them and I headed to the bathroom to take care of my own wound. I used the wall to guide me, and when I got inside, I collapsed against the sink. My body felt weak, and my head pounded. Now that I didn't need the adrenaline anymore, my body was disagreeing with the sudden drop in energy. The room faded in and out, and my grip loosened on the sink. I was too tired to care that I was falling. I caught of glimpse of the toilet as my head hit it and I let the darkness pull me under before I even landed.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Alone

**Rating: T**

**Warning: Cursing**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough.**

**Thanks to VCCV for being my beta, you've been a hell of a lot of help. It's well appreciated. Thanks!**

_**Derek's POV**_

I stirred restlessly, slowly waking. I didn't sense danger. Everything was quiet besides the heavy breathing coming from the body next to me. I pushed myself to sitting position, blinking a few times to refocus on the wall, and tried to figure out where I was. The last thing I remembered was Stiles jeep.

I scanned the room: computer desk, bed, posters, piles of werewolf books. Ah, Stiles' house. I could hear two other heartbeats, the one next to me and one down the hallway. I turned my attention to the one next to me, Scott. I smacked him to wake him up. He let out a whiny groan before his eyes snapped open and his gaze landed on me.

He looked me up and down; his eyes widened, and he looked horrified. Only then did I realize we were both practically naked. "Why am I in my underwear?" Scott squealed. "And why are you just staring at me?" You didn't…did you?" His eyes grew wider and there was a note of accusation in his voice.

"You're really that stupid, aren't you?" I closed my eyes, holding back my growing irritation.

"Oh, my God. You did." Scott squeezed his eyes shut as if he were about to cry, and hit his head against the floor.

"I didn't touch you!" I raised my voice, disgusted at that thought myself.

"Thank God!" He gave a sigh of relief and sat up. It finally dawned on him where we were. "We're in Stiles' house, right?"

"Yeah." My eyes noted the dry, rusty brown puddle on the floor, the smear of that same brown on the door frame and the first aid supplies in a pile next to us. Finally, my gaze landed on the pile of bloody clothes. "Stiles must've stripped us and cleaned us up." I tugged the bandages off my torso and forearm. They weren't of use anymore.

"Where is Stiles?" Scott looked around the room, concerned.

"He's somewhere down the hall." I listened for his heartbeat, and concentrated on pinpointing where he was. "In the bathroom." I frowned. "It's actually kind of weak." I flung the blanket off of Scott and myself, and stood up, Scott not too far behind me. Together, we raced towards the bathroom. The sight we were met with horrified us. Stiles lay face down, four tear marks in the back of his shirt, and a patch of blood slowly engulfing the portion of white fabric.

"Stiles." Scott whispered, voice shaky.

I knelt and gently pulled Stiles up off of the floor and into my arms. "Scott." I turned my head towards him only to find him gone, but a moment later he appeared with the first-aid supplies we'd seen in Stiles' room. Scott sank to his knees on the other side of Stiles. He dropped everything, but the scissors onto the floor. Using them, he quickly cut Stiles' shirt off.

Four deep furrows lay under the material. Parts were freshly scabbing over but in the deepest wounds, blood still sluggishly seeped out. While Scott tended to the claw marks on his back, I held Stiles steady against my chest. That put his blood-soaked forehead right in my vision. I tilted Stiles' chin up, turning his face to mine, and examined the gash on his forehead. The blood contrasted with his fair complexion, but most of it had crusted over by now. I carefully ran my thumb along the wound.

"He hit the toilet on the way down." Scott had paused from dabbing antiseptic on Stiles' back motioning towards the red smear on the toilet seat. "Stiles." Scott looked guiltily between the bloody mark and Stiles before he continued to tend to his back.

I grabbed a damp washcloth and wiped the crusted blood off Stiles' face. The best we could do was bandage him up. Stitches and x-rays would have to be done in a hospital. I couldn't wait for that argument when Stiles woke up.

"We should get him in bed." Every time Scott looked at Stiles, I could smell the grief that swept over him. I understood. I felt the same, though I'm sure if Scott weren't so out of it and sniffed back in my direction…there would be a little more than guilt.

Standing up, I lifted Stiles from the floor and carried him back to his bed. I set him down gently, but I could feel his muscles twitch as his back made contact. He hadn't woken up yet, and at this point, I didn't know how long he'd been out. His body seemed to be working fine, I couldn't see any signs of internal bleeding but even my perception deceived me at times.

"Will he be okay?" Scott's voice came out a bit strained, choking on his words.

"He seems fine, but we'll have to get him to a hospital to make sure." My eyes lingered on the slumbering boy's face. Anger swept over me, not at Stiles or Scott, but at myself. If I hadn't passed out, Stiles wouldn't have been hurt. Hell, if it weren't for me, he wouldn't even have been there. I clenched my fists trying to keep my rage to myself.

"It's my fault, too." Scott must have picked up on my anger. "I should have been awake to help, but I wasn't." He seemed disgusted with himself.

"He should have run." I muttered. "I tired to get him to leave, but he refused."

"It's Stiles. What did you expect?" Scott gave a small, saddened chuckle. "He doesn't quit, and he doesn't get 'no'."

A shadow of a smile crossed my face, but quickly vanished as I leaned in, peering closer at Stiles. I hadn't noticed the bruises forming on him before. I was so distracted by the actual bleeding wounds. There was one on his cheekbone; I figured it was from where he'd hit the bathroom floor. But the ones on his shoulder puzzled me for a moment, and then I remembered the grip I'd had on him last night as he dragged my sorry ass out of danger. My frown deepened, and my fingers lightly stroked the discolored skin. Another thing to feel guilty about. Would the list never end with this boy?

"What are we gonna do when Stiles' dad gets home?" Scott asked quietly. In true fashion, either Murphy's Law was in effect or Scott's voice had summoned the Sheriff.

"Stiles…what the hell?" The Sheriff's voice wavered between worried and confused.

This wasn't good. I pulled my hands away from Stiles, and slowly turned to face the Sheriff. The room already looked like a crime scene: two guys, half-naked, the Sheriff's unconscious and obviously bleeding son.

"Hale?" The Sheriff's eyes widened. And then, there was the suspected murderer standing over him. I wasn't at all surprised when the Sheriff snatched his gun from its holster, aiming directly at me.

Yeah, this wasn't looking good at all.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Alone

**Rating: T**

**Warning: Cursing**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough.**

**Thanks to VCCV for being my beta. You've inspired me and helped me out a lot. There isn't a single thing that you haven't done, thank you.**

Sheriff Stilinksi's POV

It was pushing into the wee hours of the morning when I pulled into the driveway. I could have been home earlier if it weren't for the call I got to check out a parking garage on Burke Street. The destruction and vandalism done was horrible. It looked like they'd used heavy machinery to trash the place. And to top all that off, someone let their damn dog off its leash, and it was roaming around, picking fights.

I was relieved when I could finally relax, headed home, but my relief was cut short when I pulled into the drive and saw the driver's side window of my son's jeep smashed in. Peering through the shattered window, I could see shards of glass on the dashboard and in the seat. Nothing else stood out, but then, it was after midnight and there's only so much a flashlight can illuminate.

I hoped I could just be pissed off about some horsing around that Stiles and Scott had done, but I had a bad feeling that there was more to it. I headed towards the front door. The door was slightly ajar and, as I got closer, I noticed the smear of blood on the handle. Now panicked, I quickly pushed the door open and raced towards the stairs. There was blood smeared across the wall and railing. I bolted up the staircase and straight to my son's room, bum-rushing the door to gain entrance. Then, I stopped short.

"Stiles…what the hell?" My worry clashed with a sudden confusion. I saw my boy seemingly unconscious in bed, a man looming over him and Scott hovering just over the man's shoulder. Both were half-naked. The looming man pulled away from my son and slowly turned towards me, Scott followed suit. "Hale?" My eyes widened, and I quickly drew my gun, aiming it straight at the murderer.

"Whoa, I don't think that's necessary!" Scott gave a half-hearted smile and tried to deflate the situation, but seeing as that wasn't about to happen, he put himself in between Hale and the gun.

"Scott, move." I demanded, grimly.

"No." Scott frowned and planted himself more firmly in place.

"It wasn't a request, Scott. Move!" I jerked my head to the side, indicating him to step that direction.

"I'm not moving." Scott glanced over his shoulder before making eye contact with me.

"Hale won't hurt you anymore." I reassured him. "You can stop protecting him, and get the hell out of the way."

Again, Scott looked back at Hale, but this time it seemed like they were having a wordless conversation. This lasted a few seconds before Hale looked at me and then averted his eyes, closing them in what seemed like defeat, guilt written all over him.

"Derek didn't hurt anyone," Scott said, quietly. "Not those people, not me and definitely not Stiles." I took a moment to glance at my son again. It certainly didn't look like he was just sleeping. I narrowed my eyes. "I lied," Scott said quickly, "About everything. What happened at the school, the murders, and my contact with Derek."

"What? Why?" I asked, baffled.

"Because lying was easier than telling you the truth." Scott's eyes were focusing on everything, but me.

"Did you have something to do with all of it?" I wasn't sure I wanted to hear Scott's answer.

"In a way…yes" Scott let his head hang, his expression hidden behind his hair.

"Did you kill anyone?" I didn't want to have to arrest my son's best friend, but if it were necessary, I'd have no choice.

"No." Scott's gaze shot back up to me, anger on his face giving way to a bit of hurt. "But I know what did, and I know why it's doing it."

"Then why aren't you telling me?" I was becoming frustrated. What was so bad, that Scott refused to tell me who was behind the killings?

"Because it's not as simple as finding the murderer and putting him behind bars!" Scott shouted. "This thing would rip you apart limb by limb." I wasn't sure if there were something wrong with the lighting or if I was seeing things, but it looked like Scott's eyes took on an amber glow.

Hale grabbed Scott's shoulder and just that touch seemed to calm him immediately, the amber fading away. Scott dropped back to stand at Stiles' bedside, letting Hale take charge.

"Scott's not lying. I'm afraid the truth is much more complicated than what you're hoping for, Sheriff." The guilt from earlier disappeared from his face. Actually, all emotion disappeared from his face. It seemed like Hale made an effort to become as void of emotion as possible.

"What's so complicated about it?" This beating around the bush was beginning to piss me off.

"You've heard lore about 'mythical' creatures, correct?" I impatiently nodded my head. "Have you heard of lycanthropy?"

"Yes." My eyes narrowed again. This man had to be on something because he was talking nonsense. "Is this going anywhere?" I asked in annoyance. A slightly more murderous look came over Hale.

"What you're dealing with isn't merely human, it's a monster!" Hale growled through gritted teeth. "You're dealing with a werewolf."

"Bullshit!" I was insulted. "You expect me to believe a werewolf, a mythical monster, is what killed these people, including your sister?" I scoffed. "You must think I'm stupid."

"If I were lying, I would have left this town long ago." This man hadn't even blinked as he spun his fairy tale. I still wasn't convinced.

"You expect me to believe you, of all people?"

"No, but I know someone you will." I followed Hale's gaze to Scott. "Show him."

The room became quiet as that uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach again. I watched Scott: his breathing had become heavier, and he went from my son's goofy teenaged friend to something almost animalistic. I nearly had a heart attack as he slowly lifted his head back up. His eyes were shining again, but they were a bright golden color now, and shining like beacons, He lifted the corner of his lip and I could see his canines descend. His nails had become claw-like and were still growing as I watched. Scott no longer looked human; he looked like an animal. The gun that I had held loosely in my hand now dropped to the floor with a thud.

"What the…what the fuck's wrong with him?" I took a few clumsy steps backwards, unsure of what was going to happen next.

"He's a werewolf," Hale answered, calmly. My eyes darted to him as a flash of electric blue caught my attention.

"And you?" I asked, warily.

"I'm one, too."

It was still hard to wrap my mind around the whole existence of werewolves, but I was beginning to believe them. I still had questions, though. Were they still lying to me? What are the killings for? Why was my son involved in this? So many questions were flying through my head.

"So, another werewolf is behind the killings?" I needed clarification.

"Yes, it's called an Alpha," Derek replied. "Scott and I are only betas."

"How do I know you aren't working for this Alpha?" I asked suspiciously.

" I would never work willingly with this Alpha." Hale's muscles tightened; and his eyes flashed blue again.

"Why not?" I pushed.

"I'm loyal to one Alpha, and that bastard killed mine!" Hale snarled. "That's the only reason he's an Alpha." It was obvious that I'd hit a definite sore spot in him.

"Your sister. She was the Alpha wasn't she?" Scott asked quietly, having fallen back into human features.

"Yes." Hale's face twisted, as if he were in pain. "We don't know who the Alpha is, Sheriff. My sister wanted answers, and she was killed for that. The Alpha knows I refuse to join him, so he's trying to form a pack. His first attempt is Scott. We don't know why he's killing people, but we believe it's to get Scott's attention, and ultimately mine."

"So, you two are…"

"Are trying to kill the Alpha." Hale had calmed down, and resumed his stoic expression, but the pain still gleamed in his eyes. "If we do, Scott can become human again."

"What about you?" I was confused. "If Scott can change back, wouldn't you be able to as well?"

"I was born with the curse; it's in my blood, my genetic make-up. I'll always be like this."

Everything was laid out on the table now. It was going to be hard to soak all this insane information in at once, but I'd have to.

"And, my boy, what happened?" I demanded.

"We don't know," Scott replied. "All we know is that the Alpha got hold of him. We woke up like this, not too long ago." Scott motioned to his and Hale's boxer clad bodies."We figured Stiles had taken care of us, kept Derek from bleeding to death until our healing process could take over. Then we found him knocked out in the bathroom. It looked like he passed out trying to clean his own wound, so we fixed him up the best we could." I was familiar with Scott's guilty face; I'd seen it enough standing beside my son. The guilt he wore now though was almost staggering.

"He hasn't woken up yet. We don't know how long he's been out." Hale added to Scott's explanation.

Everyone's attention was brought back to Stiles when he gave a low groan and started to stir. As his eyes slowly opened, I pushed my way to my boy's side and grabbed his hand gently.

"Stiles?"

He blinked several times and frowned in confusion.

"Dad?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Title: Alone**

**Rating: T**

**Warning: Cursing**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough.**

**I would like to give clarification to one of my reviewers on a good observation they made about Derek. He did say that lycanthropy was a gift, but I figure that when it comes down to his loved ones getting hurt because of it, it would become more of a curse. Nice catch! :) **** And as always, thank you to my beta VCCV. Again amazing as usual!**

**Stiles POV**

_It always started and ended the same, a bright light, slowly consumed by a growing darkness. Everything held dear, taken away from me, slowly disappearing into the shadows, until I stood alone. It always scared me; the people I worked so hard to help, walking out on me when I needed them most._

_"Mom?" She'd always look at me with a sad smile. Her lips would move, 'I love you', but no words ever came out. As she'd fade away into the darkness, my dad would run after her, leaving me behind as well._

_"Scott?" I watched as he aged from a child until now. His smile never faded, that was, until the golden glow came into them. My best friend would give me a disgusted look, and lay the blame down on me. 'This is your fault,' he mouthed silently, soundlessly, as the darkness devoured everything but his eyes, accusing, angry. Then, they disappeared too._

_"Derek?" He was always the last one standing. In the short amount of time I'd known him, my respect grew for him. I was still terrified of him, but I felt like I could understand him. We'd both felt loss; in the end, both of us really ended up alone. "Please don't leave me." He never acknowledged me; he just stood staring expressionlessly at me. Then, he would cast his eyes downwards before bringing them back to mine, 'I'm sorry'. Silence. He'd turn his back to me and walk straight into the darkness, leaving the last bit of light narrowed down to me._

_Alone, that's always how it ended._

"Stiles?" The voice wavered, hesitant but familiar.

_"Scott?" I looked around, but all I could see was the darkness closing in on me._

"Stiles!" A stronger voice, less hesitant but with a bit of panic to it

_"Dad?" I blindly reached into the darkness, wordlessly begging someone to come back for me. That's when I felt the gentle grip on my hand._

"Stiles?"

I opened my eyes and was instantly blinded by the light. I blinked several times before my eyes opened all the way. Scott and Derek were who I saw, but neither of them were anywhere near my hand. I frowned in confusion and turned to see who had a hold of me.

"Dad?"

"Stiles." My dad heaved a sigh and gave a tremulous smile.

Thing got even more confusing for me when I noted Derek and my dad were in the same room with one another. I was having a hard time remembering what happened. Pictures flashed through my mind: dark fur, red eyes, black leather and bloody bodies. I flinched and a nearly unbearable pain shot up my back. Everything slowly came back to me; the parking garage, the drive, tending to Derek and Scott and then passing out before I could clean my wound. I ran my fingers over the patch of gauze on my forehead. I remembered the dull pain as the darkness pulled me in.

"How do you feel, Stiles?" Scott asked, eagerly stepping forward.

"I feel like a rag doll." It hadn't been a pleasant night, all the running and carrying took a lot out of me. Trying to fight the Alpha off of my back also wasn't a walk in the park.

"He needs stitches, Sheriff." Derek spoke for the first time, drawing my attention back to him.

"Why the hell are you here with my dad?" I was confused, but worry won out. Derek had just come back from the dead; I didn't want my dad to put him behind bars.

"Scott and I told him the truth." Derek's gaze on me was soft.

"About everything?" I was dumbfounded.

"Yes," Derek answered, simply.

"We can talk about how much I know, after we get you to the hospital." My dad let go of my hand and stepped back, a very serious expression on his face.

"I don't need to go to the hospital, I'm fine." The pounding in my head and throbbing in my back said otherwise, but the hospital was the one place I didn't want to go.

The thought of being confined to a bed, IV in your arm and surrounded by constant death, wasn't how I planned the rest of my night to go. But that was only scratching the surface. The last time I was there was the worst moment of my life, and the reason I never wanted to go back. The reason I couldn't bear to go back.

I'll never forget that moment. The moment my mom died. It was like she knew it was her time. She told me to tell Dad she loved him. My grip on her hand tightened as I gave it a firm shake, and told her not to talk like that, everything was going to be fine. The last thing she said before the monitor flat lined was 'I love you, Stiles'. I screamed at the top of my lungs for help, but by the time anyone got there, it was too late. They couldn't save her. I remember they called my dad from work and pulled me out of the room to stand in the hall. When my dad arrived, all we could do was hold each other and cry.

"Stiles." My dad's voice held sadness.

"I don't want to go back there." My voice was barely above a whisper.

"You don't have a choice," he said gently. "And I know it'll always be harder for you, Stiles, but if we don't get you to the hospital there's no telling what could happen."

"Fine," I answered, defeat evident in my voice.

There was no use fighting with my dad. We'd both lost her, both went three years with out her and both of us will never forgive ourselves for her death. It'll always be hard for me, having watched her die right in front of me. A thirteen year-old boy watching his mother give up the fight, something no one should have to watch.

"Scott. Hale. You two are coming also. Get some clothes on." My dad motioned to the dresser, but took a second look at Derek. "I don't think Stiles' clothes will fit you. Go borrow some of mine."

Once Derek and Scott were dressed, and we were ready to head to the hospital, I kicked the blanket off. My body didn't respond well to the jerky movement. A whimper escaped, but before I knew it, Derek had picked me up in his arms and was following Scott and my dad to the police SUV.

"You know, I can walk on my own." I gave a small smile as the familiar scent of smoke drifted from Derek's leather jacket. I noticed that my growing dread was being replaced with that weird, happy, fluttery feeling from earlier. He easily opened the back door to the SUV and gently set me in the seat, a puzzled look on his face.

"What?" He asked, almost defensively.

"Nothing." I said the word a little too quickly for my liking and my heart skipped a beat. Yeah, there was no way he could possibly miss that. He gave me a strange look, then shut the door and headed around to the other side of the SUV. Scott was climbing into the passenger's seat, when my dad pulled him back out.

"Uh, uh. Hale, you're up front with me. Scott, get back with Stiles." My dad eyed Derek closely as he and Scott switched places. It was very clear that he still didn't trust Derek with me.

The ride there was possibly the most uncomfortable one I'd ever experienced. The silence that filled the air was rife with tension, distrust and for me, dread.

We came to a stop in front of the hospital. The place brought back my worst memories. I'd avoided it for the last three years, refused to go inside, even for a minute. I remember waiting out in my jeep one time, while Scott went in to get a new inhaler.

The other three men reached for their door handles. "Don't even think about it, Hale." My dad gave Derek a threatening look. "If you step out of this SUV and someone sees you, it not only will be bad for you, but it'll be bad for me, too. You know, aiding an alleged murderer."

Derek gave an irritated sigh, but slowly pulled his hand away from the door. "Then what the hell am I supposed to do?" He glared angrily between my father and me.

"You're going to help me patrol town. That way I can keep an eye on you." My dad smirked, obviously enjoying having ticked Derek off. Then he turned to Scott and me. "Scott, you'll be taking care of Stiles. Make sure he stays in bed, and keep him company until they release him. Call me and I'll come and get you."

"Yes, sir." Scott nodded so hard I thought we might be getting him checked for concussion damage when we got in there.

"Dad," I said softly. "Be careful out there." There was still the possibility of a pissed off Alpha. None of us were sure how forgiving he'd be, but I was betting not very.

"I will be. Now, you boys get inside."

Scott helped me out of the SUV and into the hospital. They had me swept away to a room as quickly as possible, and it took quite a while before I could see Scott again. I ended up with seven stitches on my forehead, and butterfly bandages holding the claw marks closed.

_**Scott's POV**_

I watched the doctor walk out of sight before I stepped into Stiles' hospital room and closed the door. Everything outside the room was quiet and empty. The nurses were all clustered at their stations and, at this hour of the night, visitors weren't allowed.

"How are you doing?" I pulled a chair up to Stiles' side and sat down, resting my arm on the bed.

"I'm fine, just sore is all." He nodded shortly.

"That's not what I meant." I gave him a serious look

He sighed and shook his head. "It'll always be hard, Scott. This is where she…the good memories aren't here." I could smell the hurt, regret and pain washing over Stiles. I grabbed his hand and just held it. The action seemed like the right thing to do.

"Thanks." He gave me a half-hearted smile.

"You scared the crap out of me tonight, you know that right?" I still hadn't gotten over seeing Stiles lying in the floor covered in blood. All the time Derek and I were patching him up, I couldn't stop thinking about what I could have done to keep him safe. Asking him to come to that damn place was the first thing I would have changed.

"You and Derek gave me quite the scare, too," he replied. "The whole Alpha trying to eat me moments were the scariest though." He chuckled and grinned at me.

"I'm glad you're all right." I returned the smile; and realized it was the first real one I'd had since I'd woken up.

For the next hour or so, I found myself sitting on the bed with Stiles just having small talk. It was the first time in a long time that we just had a normal conversation, not involving werewolves or Allison. It was times like this that I missed having the most; that made me realize how badly I could have damaged our friendship had Stiles not been too stubborn to let me go, even at risk to his own life. Stiles had just launched into one of his rambling stories, when a small noise from outside the room caught my attention. It was so low that Stiles didn't even notice it. I cocked my head in that direction.

"What?" Stiles asked nervously. "Is someone out there?" He was still on edge from earlier events. I couldn't blame him. I was, too.

"I can't tell, hold on." I slid off the bed and walked to the door, sticking my head out. I looked left, right, straight and I couldn't see anything but I heard the sound of something metallic rolling across the floor just around the corner. Then the smell of blood hit me like a tsunami. It was strong and coming from the same direction as the sound. I knew blood wasn't all that surprising to smell in hospital, but this was fresh. The still warm kind of fresh. Emotions tended to linger in the bloodstream. I'm sure there was a medical name for it. I just knew that who ever had shed this blood was terrified.

"Scott?" The fear coming off Stiles was nearly as strong.

"Stay here," I ordered. "I'll be right back."

"Wait!" Stiles interjected, panicked. "You're just gonna leave me alone, in a creepy dim lit hospital room, to go investigate?" Stiles slid out of the bed and looked at me disbelievingly.

I sighed. I'd rather he stayed safely in his bed, but I knew that expecting Stiles to do what was best for him was nearly impossible. "Do you want to come with me?" Stiles mulled things over in his head, looking uneasily between the door and me. It looked like it hurt, but finally he shook his head 'no' vigorously.

"Stay here." I opened the door once again and stepped out into the hallway. The blood and fear had coated the air completely. I held my breath, but that didn't help, I could still taste it. I slowly made my way down the right corridor, in the direction of the check-in desk. As I rounded the corner, I found the source of the metallic noise. It was a can, used for holding pens. The pens were scattered all over the floor and no one was in sight. I moved closer to the desk and found the source of the blood. A young nurse lay sprawled on the floor; her eyes staring sightlessly and a pool of blood widening beneath her torn out throat. I didn't know who she was, but the sight made me sick.

There was another smell lingering around her body, it was familiar but I couldn't place my finger on it. It wasn't fear. It was more like…rage. Then I remembered where I knew the scent from: that night at the school and tonight at the parking garage.

Shit, Stiles!

I raced back to Stiles' room and slammed the door open. Stiles' eyes grew huge and he practically fell out of bed. "What?" He whispered. "What is it?" Is it the Alpha?"

I didn't think I could stand smelling that nurse's dying terror coming from Stiles. I wasn't going to make the same mistake I'd made earlier this evening. I pulled him upright and looked straight into his eyes.

"Stiles, you have to find somewhere to hide." I turned him and pushed him out the door, towards one of the other hallways. "Go!"

I watched him take off, glancing back at me all the way. As he turned the corner, I heard a bloodcurdling howl echo through the empty hallway. It did more than scare the shit out of me. It called to me, or rather, it called to my wolf. I tried to fight the pull, but I hadn't yet mastered my own purposeful shifts, much less one being drawn from me by an Alpha. My wolf was responding to the Alpha's will, and there was no way I could stop it. I'd lost all control within seconds.

I was able to see out of my own eyes, but my actions weren't my own anymore; they were the wolf's. They were the Alpha's. He was tracking. As the wolf caught Stiles' scent, I could feel the bloodlust rushing through him, through me. The wolf loped down the hall I'd just sent Stiles into. It stopped right in the middle of the hall before slowly making its way into one of the operating rooms.

"Scott?" Stiles called hesitantly. The wolf snapped our head in his direction and let out a blood-chilling snarl. "Okay…not Scott." Stiles squeaked out.

He darted from under the counter to put the operating table between us. The wolf slowly closed in on him. Stiles snatched up a metal tray, sending all the operating equipment clanging to the floor. He looked at the platter questionably, then shrugged as he sent it flying at us. My wolf didn't even bother to dodge; it bounced right off us. The sound coming from our mouth was growling, but I could hear the wolf laughing inside my head.

_Stop!_

I screamed at the wolf, but he ignored me. He pounced on Stiles as though this were a game. Stiles managed to wiggle out of our grasp slightly. But, the wolf didn't let it stay that way for long. Stiles had managed to slide his body up, putting all of his vital organs out of reach; just not his legs. With a howl of victory inside my head, the wolf sank his teeth into Stiles' thigh.

"Scott!" Stiles shrieked my name out in pain.

_Fucking stop it! You're hurting him!_

I tried to gain control of my body back, but the wolf continued biting, sinking his teeth, further into Stiles' thigh.

"Fuck, Scott!" Stiles flailed weakly for a moment, then grabbed up the nearest of the operating instruments lying on the floor next to him. He sat up, and stabbed the scalpel into the wolf's back.

The pain sparked sharply in my shoulder, but the wolf didn't let go; his teeth nearly meeting through Stiles' flesh. Stiles couldn't fight off the wolf, the only thing he was able to do was scream in agony. I could sense that the wolf was getting tired of playing with his food, and any second, he was going to gut Stiles.

_Stop! He's your friend! Look at him; he's terrified. How can you want to kill the only person who's willing to help you, no matter the risk! He's always there when you need him, when I need him. You can't kill him. Let him go_!

I didn't really think I could reason with the beast, but hopefully the babbling would distract the wolf long enough for me to get control. The wolf suddenly released his bite on Stiles' thigh, but still wouldn't relinquish control. He just stared at Stiles, curiously; examining him; questioning why we should give mercy to something so weak. I took one last shot at control, bundling all my rage up in one final hard hit.

_Leave him be!_


	10. Chapter 10

**Title: Alone**

**Rating: T**

**Warning: Cursing**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough.**

**I would like to give a humongous THANK YOU to ****agentdouble0negative2**** for giving me the idea for this chapter **** If you hadn't said what you did, I would still be sitting here thinking about what to write. Thank you! Also Thank you VCCV for being my beta, you have been a huge help and I appreciate that you're still with me.**

_**Derek's POV**_

I was beyond irritated at this point. Every single movement I made had the Sheriff's head snapping in my direction. A switch of position, a stretch, even the slightest twitch. It was like he expected me to jump out of the vehicle at any given moment or rip his head off. I'd been watching the houses and trees zip by for the past hour on the most boring patrol of my life, while the Sheriff's eyes bore into the side of my skull.

"What?" I finally snapped.

"Hmph." He shrugged his shoulders as his eyes went back to the road. A few minutes of silence passed, and I could feel the Sheriff's glare, again.

"Why are you watching me?" I asked, irritably, trying not to sound like an irritated werewolf.

"I'm trying to find an answer." He spoke as if I'd just asked the obvious.

"To what?" I lowered my voice, but my irritation was still present.

"To why my son was involved with you." The Sheriff's glower darted between the road and me.

I thought about it. Stiles wouldn't have been involved at all if Scott weren't his best friend. Stiles' loyalty was strong, especially towards Scott. It just happened to subsequently fall to me; right around the day, I got shot. Stiles took care of me, terrified that I was going to rip him apart if he didn't, but I could smell the worry coming off him. He wanted to help, and not just because I was threatening him. That's when he really became involved in things.

"Well," the Sheriff asked impatiently. "Are you going to answer me?"

"He was helping Scott, and Scott needed my help. Stiles got thrown into the middle of things and instead of just leaving things be, he ended up helping me, too." I stared out the windshield blankly.

"And how do you treat him?" The Sheriff glanced at me with disdain.

I could have lied to him, but that didn't seem like the smart thing to do since I was trying to gain the man's trust. "I rough him up," I admitted "but only when he won't do what I need him to."

"Explain." The Sheriff demanded.

"Threats, but never ones I'd go through with. I've also pinned him against a wall on occasion." I could feel the Sheriff's glare deepen. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this uncomfortable.

"So, you've never physically hurt him?" He asked disbelievingly.

"No!" I looked at the Sheriff, eyes wide. "Never." Something about this man's son made me cringe at the thought of hurting him.

"Good, because if you did, I swear to _God_ I'd shoot you." He threatened fiercely.

The silence that had held for the past hour came back, and I found myself deep in thought. It was understandable that the Sheriff was terrified for his son, but to accuse me of hurting him, I kind of felt insulted. Sure, I roughed Stiles up every now and then, but I could never bring myself to really hurt him. Every time I smelt fear come from the boy, it made me sick, even more so when I caused it.

And then there were the weird feelings the boy gave me. He was like a rubber band. I'd try to walk away, but I snapped right back into place. I'd find myself intently watching the boy, more so than I should have been. I'd keep an eye on him, make sure he was safe, and if he wasn't, I was ready to fight to protect him. It was as if he sparked something in me that I thought I'd put to rest.

"What are you thinking about?" The Sheriff's question brought me back to the present.

"Huh?" I replied, a bit confused at the sudden desire the Sheriff had to talk again.

"You were frowning." He brought a hand off the wheel to motion towards my face. "And you were staring pretty intently at the dashboard."

"Oh." I brought my eyes back to the road. If the Sheriff were anything like his son, he wouldn't be able to stand the one-word answer. Sure enough, the SUV slowed down and the Sheriff pulled to the side of the road

"So, what were you thinking about?" He prodded at me once again.

"I'd never hurt Stiles," I blurted out.

"What?" The Sheriff looked at me, perplexed.

"I'd never hurt Stiles," I repeated. "If it were my choice, he wouldn't even be involved in this."

"If it were your choice?" His puzzlement seemed to grow.

"Stiles doesn't listen," The Sheriff snorted in agreement. "He'll do things, and he'll do them his way. I can't stop him, even with threats. He just does what he thinks needs to be done." I gave a small smile, but it quickly disappeared when I thought of how many times Stiles ended up hurt because he did 'the right thing'. I hated thinking that even at my best; I still couldn't keep him safe.

"That's my boy," The Sheriff finally replied. "He was always like that, but he really took charge three years ago." The Sheriff's gaze went to the steering wheel; I could smell the guilt emanating from him.

"What happened three years ago?" I asked, curiously. What could have brought so much guilt to the Sheriff and so much pain to Stiles?

"My wife, Stiles' mom, died." The Sheriff briefly squeezed his eyes shut, but that was the only physical response he allowed himself. "Stiles had to watch his mom pass right in front of him, alone. I wasn't there to comfort my boy. He had to wait until the doctor called me from the station." Guilt and grief combined to make a scent unlike any other. The waves of it coming off of the Sheriff were actually making me a bit sick.

Stiles' earlier behavior suddenly made sense. I understood now why he didn't want to go back; understood why the Sheriff felt so at fault. "I'm sorry." I knew how hard it was to lose family; it ate at you until you just fell apart.

"Stiles took on a lot of responsibility. He had to grow up way before his time. He's a good boy." The Sheriff gave a conflicted smile. I could tell he was proud of his boy, but guilty at the loss of youth for him.

I slumped into the seat. The Sheriff had gone quiet, thinking about his boy. Stiles and his father had a close relationship, one that I never had with mine. I was closer to my mother, she took care of me, taught me how to live as what I was. I saw a lot of her in Laura; both in physical features and in the way she acted.

In the middle of my mental meanderings. I found myself tensing up. I could hear the echo of a howl. It was faint but it was still loud enough that the Sheriff could hear it. He tensed and shifted around in his seat, looking through every window of the SUV.

"What the hell was that?" he asked quickly, voice a little higher than usual.

"The Alpha," I answered.

"What is he doing?" I could tell that the mention of the Alpha had him slightly unnerved.

"He's calling out." I tilted my head a little, trying to locate him. "Dammit!" Frustration was building up in me quickly.

"What?" By now, the Sheriff's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"He's too far away," I growled. "I can't pinpoint where he is."

"Who's he calling to?"

"I don't know. He's just calling." I was pissed off; all I knew is that it didn't sound like the Alpha was going to attack anyone. A few minutes passed, and there was no second call from the Alpha. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I got the sudden urge to get back to the hospital as fast as possible. I wasn't able to get any words out before my cell phone went off. I hastily shoved my hand in my pocket and answered it.

"Scott, is everything okay?" I asked worried, but he answered with sobs.

"I'm sorry!" Scott forced the words through his crying.

"For what? What happened?" I demanded.

"I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry." Scott was crying so hard it was difficult to understand him. "I couldn't control it."

"Scott, is Stiles all right?" My concern was growing and so was that uneasy feeling.

"I'm sorry, please. Just hurry!"

"Scott! Is Stiles all right?" The line went dead. "Scott? Dammit!" I shoved my phone back into my pocket.

"What the hell happened?" the Sheriff angrily demanded, worry in the undertone of his voice.

"I don't know!" I snapped. "Just drive!" I yelled at him.

The Sheriff had the car started and turned in a matter of seconds. The drive to the hospital felt like hours. My concern for Stiles grew the longer it took to get back. I didn't know how bad things were, but they sounded pretty fucked up. The Sheriff and I came to a screeching stop in front of the hospital; we flung our doors open and raced inside. The smell of death hit me hard, I could pinpoint one dead body, other than that there was an unsettling silence through out the entire hospital.

"This way!" I took the lead, the Sheriff following hastily behind me. I locked onto Stiles' scent and carefully tracked it through the halls. The trail ended in an OR room. An OR room that smelled of Stiles' blood and that horrible guilty grief scent.

"Stiles!" The Sheriff and I yelled in unison, fear coursing through both of us.

"Over here." His voice drifted from the corner of the room.

The Sheriff dashed for his boy. I stepped further into the room and visually examined Stiles from a distance. Everything seemed fine, until I reached his leg. His right pant leg had been ripped open, and a bandage covered a still bleeding wound.

"What the fuck happened!" I snarled, snapping my head towards Scott.

"I didn't mean to." Scott's voice cracked as he spoke. "I tried to stop it…but I couldn't." He lifted his head from his lap, eyes puffy and red. My eyes widened as I connected everything together. The Alpha called out to Scott, his wolf took over and attacked Stiles.

"You bit him." My eyes fell back to the bandage on Stiles' thigh.

"I'm sorry." Scott was doing his best to hold back his sobs.

"What's gonna happen to my son?" The Sheriff asked worriedly.

"He'll become one of us…if the bite doesn't kill him." I answered quietly.

"Wait." Stiles looked at me panicked. "If it doesn't kill me?" His voice went up an octave.

I locked my eyes with his and nodded slowly. Stiles' heartbeat was banging against his chest uncontrollably, and his body was shaking. He looked petrified. Watching him and seeing him so fearful, practically broke my heart.

"What are we supposed to do?" the Sheriff snapped at me.

"We take him home, and we wait." I frowned at the Sheriff. "The only thing we can do is watch him through the night, and hope that he's healed in the morning."

"But that would mean he's a werewolf?" The Sheriff looked at his son. Stiles hadn't said anything more, but his eyes had gotten wider with what was said.

"Yes." I averted my eyes to the ground. The guilt and grief circulating through the room nearly choked me, and I wished Stiles weren't given the outcomes he was.


	11. Chapter 11

**Title: Alone**

**Rating: T**

**Warning: Cursing**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough.**

**I've started school, so updates may take a bit longer. Thanks to VCCV for being my beta :) You've been a great help, thanks for staying with me.**

**_Sheriff's POV_**

As I watched my son through the night, I felt helpless. I couldn't do anything but sit and stare at him as his body convulsed every few hours. Hale told me it was the reaction of the toxin running through his veins, that his body was deciding whether to mesh with it or reject it. It was almost too much for me to stay and watch my son in this state. His skin was burning up, sweat coating it, and all color drained from his face.

I was sitting next to the bed, ready to jump straight to my boy's aid. Hale and Scott had chosen seats in opposite corners of the room. Hale glared at Scott whenever they made eye contact, and Scott lowered his head avoiding the harsh gaze. It was obvious that Hale was pissed at Scott, but I was more concerned with whether or not Stiles was going to make it to the morning.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move.

"Something's happening!" I stood up from my chair, quickly getting a closer look at Stiles. Skin had slowly begun growing over the stitches in his forehead. Hale and Scott moved to the other side of the bed. Hale reached for the bandage on Stiles' leg and lifted it up, just enough so he could see the wound, but then he quickly ripped it off.

"He's healing." Hale was as stoic as ever, but there was a glint of relief in his eye when he looked at Stiles. I remembered how gently he handled him, almost as if he were afraid he'd break Stiles.

"He'll be all right?" I asked shakily, giving Stiles a relieved look.

"Yes, but he'll also be a werewolf." I could have sworn I saw Hale's upper lip twitch, but the rest of his face remained impassive.

I felt more at ease knowing my boy was going to live, but it would take time to adapt to him being a werewolf. Scott and Hale resumed their seats in the corners of the room, while I watched Stiles heal. The wound scabbed over and from there it slowly flaked, and pale skin knitted its way over the scarred area, making the skin flawless again.

"He'll be fine, Sheriff. You should get some rest." Hale stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder.

I knew it was supposed to have been a comforting gesture, but I found myself tensing at the touch. "You're right. I have to leave for the station at six. Which means," I glanced at my watch, "I'll get two hours of sleep." I got up and headed for the door, glancing back at my son one last time before exiting into the hall. "I'm going to need a lot of coffee," I mumbled as **_I dropped onto my bed._**

**_Derek's POV_**

"Go to school!" I yelled at Scott as I shoved him towards the front door.

"But, Derek!" Scott whined back at me.

"Go!" I said more forcefully, shoving Scott harder.

"Fine." He reluctantly opened the door and left, but not before, he shot me a glare.

I knew I shouldn't be pissed at him; Scott didn't attack Stiles, the Alpha did. The Alpha used him as a weapon of choice. Though it took every ounce of self-restraint, I had, not to just beat him senseless.

"Derek!" Stiles called from his bedroom.

I sighed and headed back upstairs to room. Stiles looked one hundred percent better. His wounds had healed, his temperature was normal and color had come back to his face. However, he was fixatedly rubbing at his forehead.

"How the hell am I supposed to get these out?" he asked pissily. Stiles pointed to his forehead, where I could barely see the stitches through his skin.

"I have an idea," I answered, enjoying the look of apprehension Stiles gave. "But I don't think you'll like it." I lifted my hand up and allowed my claws to grow.

Stiles gave a wary chuckle and scooted further onto the bed. "Isn't there another way we could do this?" he asked nervously.

"I either use my claws, or I use a knife and tweezers." I gave him a somber look. "Your choice."

"This is gonna hurt…isn't it?" he sighed resignedly before he scooted back so his legs were hanging off the edge of the bed.

I advanced towards him, and tilted his head to the left and up to get a better look at the stitches. I poked a nail straight into the flesh and slowly brought it across the length of the stitches, parting the flesh for easier access. Stiles whimpered in pain as I pulled away, snagging the stitches a bit.

"I can guarantee, this will hurt," I said apologetically. I inserted my index finger into the cut I had made and tried to catch my nail on the stitches embedded in his skin.

"Ah, ow!" Stiles balled one of his hands into the sheets while the other made a grab for my occupied hand.

"Stop moving." I forced his hand back down and resumed digging at the cut. "Got it." I tugged at the stitches. Stiles tried to pry away my hand, but I wouldn't let go. Each tug drew a small whimper from him.

"Just rip it out already!" Stiles yelled.

"It'll hurt, but it'll heal," I warned. With one last forceful tug, the stitches ripped out. There were small chunks of skin left on the thin black thread. I walked over to the computer desk, and tossed the thread in the garbage. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my fingers off before going to Stiles and wiping away the blood slowly making its way to his brow.

"Now it hurts all over again," Stiles sulked.

"I'm sorry," I said simply, sitting down in the computer chair.

"Yeah, you better be because…" Stiles stopped, eyeing me questioningly. "Wait, did you just say you were sorry?"

I nodded before pulling my phone out when it buzzed again. The thing had been going crazy for the duration of yanking Stiles' stitches out. I had fifteen new messages, all from Scott. _'Is Stiles okay?' 'Do you need my help?' _the last few were just my name.

I squeezed my eyes shut, irritably and rubbed the bridge of my nose. _'He's fine. Don't text me again!'_ I sent the message and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

_**Scott's POV**_

I was freaking out. Derek wouldn't reply to any of my messages. I don't know how many I'd sent to him within the last ten minutes. I'd missed my first two classes because I was busy arguing with Derek on not going to school. In the end, he pretty much shoved me out the damn door. Now, he wouldn't even tell me if Stiles was all right.

"Hey, Scott." If this were any other time, I'd be grinning like an idiot at that voice.

"Allison!" I forced a smile and hugged her.

"Where were you this morning?" she asked, flirtatiously.

"Taking care of Stiles." I kept my voice steady.

"Oh, is he all right?" she looked worried. I simply nodded my head. "In that case I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house after school and _study_?"

"I'd love to, but I can't." I leaned in and gave her a short kiss. "Sorry, I told Stiles I'd check up on him."

"All right." She seemed let down. "Well I'd better get to class then. Bye, Scott." She walked away, obviously upset that I'd told her no. I felt bad, but Stiles was my first priority. My phone finally buzzed with a new message. I looked at the reply _'He's fine. Don't text me again!'_

"Asshole," I muttered angrily. I guess I'd just wait until school ended to talk to Stiles and Derek.

_**Stiles POV**_

"Is it supposed to take this long for it to heal?" I poked at my forehead; it had scabbed over but it wasn't doing much else, at least not that I could tell by touching it.

"Stop touching it." Derek raised his voice a bit, as he pilfered through things on my computer desk.

"What are you looking for?" I hopped off of my bed and walked over to him.

"Nothing. Just looking." His heart skipped a beat. If I remembered right, that meant he was lying.

"Sure you are," I said, sarcastically. "Nosy as ever." I wasn't too worried; it wasn't as if I had anything personal hidden in plain sight.

Derek continued to look through my things, eventually straying from my desk to the rest of the room. Now, I was a bit uncomfortable. There wasn't anything that came directly to mind that would be too humiliating for him to find. Every teenaged boy had condoms, porn…lotion. On second thought, maybe stopping him was a good idea.

"You know what you can do?" I asked, drawing his attention away from the nightstand. I stepped in front of Derek, refusing to let him move around me. "You can get me a burger."

"There's a kitchen downstairs." Derek tried to step around me, but I mirrored his motion. So, instead he stepped on my foot.

"Ow," I muttered through gritted teeth, crossly. "I don't want it from the kitchen. I want it from that little burger joint place."

"And you can't get it yourself why?" he questioned.

I gave Derek a boo boo lip. "Please."

"You're kidding me?" Derek eyed me with a murderous look.

"Pretty pwease?" I kept my boo boo lip and looked to the ground sadly.

"Fine! What kind of burger?" He didn't sound pleased at all, actually he sounded really angry.

"Medium rare." Usually, I would ask for well done, but just about raw was what the beasty was craving.

"I'll be back."

"Thank you!" I threw my arms around Derek and hugged him. I would have just stayed like that if it weren't for the uncomfortable pat he was giving me. "Sorry, I got carried away." I gave him a sheepish smile. He just nodded and left to do my errand.

The craving was new to me, but all the smells, sights and sounds were, too. From my room, I could hear people talking on the sidewalk. I could hear cars coming from several blocks away. It was cool; the only downside is I didn't know how to zone it all out yet. I couldn't control what I wanted to hear and what I didn't. It would take a bit to perfect that. Then again, ADD probably doesn't help in the slightest bit.

The smells were almost overwhelming. I looked at a pile of dirty clothes; the smell coming off of them wasn't pleasant. That's what Scott and Derek had to smell all night? I picked the pile up and took it to the laundry room. The clothes smelled of dried and stale blood. The detergent and softener gave off a very strong floral scent; it was starting to give me a headache and I'd only been in the room a few seconds. I rushed back to my bedroom, hoping to find another smell that would wash out the horrible floral one.

A hint of smoke drifted to my senses: Derek. I could smell the smoke from his leather jacket. Then the woods and mint came to my senses. It was everything Derek. I concentrated hard on those smells; those smells were the first ones that I was going to lock away in the filing cabinet of my brain. His smells were euphoric; in fact, everything about Derek was euphoric.

I couldn't believe it. Just his scent was making everything fall into place. Every weird feeling suddenly had a name. Every flip of my stomach and ache of my heart slotted in place and it was the most amazing epiphany. I was falling for Derek. Derek, who always shuts me down, thinks I'm the most annoying guy on the planet, and constantly talks about ripping me to tiny bits. Oh, and let's not forget the constant slamming me into objects and walls… which, honestly was kinda hot. Wait, did that make me a masochist? Because I don't exactly _enjoy_ it, but I really don't hate it and…I… um…well…

"I got your stupid burger!" Derek jerked the door open and slammed it behind him.

"Derek?" This could have been worse; I could have been masturbating, but that being the fact didn't make this any less awkward.

"Here, take it." He tossed the bag at me, making his way back to the computer chair and flinging himself into it.

The bag bounced off my chest and landed on the floor. I had to drop the deer-caught-in-headlight look because that was only making Derek stare suspiciously at me. I could feel my cheeks heat up. Derek narrowed his eyes and that was when I decided to pick up the bag. I pulled the burger out and unwrapped it quickly. I took a huge mouth-filling bite. The taste burst across my tongue. It was quite possibly the most exquisite thing I'd ever eaten. I gave a contented noise.

"I take it you like it?" Derek smirked.

I mostly swallowed the food before talking. "Yeah, fanks." I don't think I even took the effort to chew after the first bite; I inhaled it.

"If you don't slow down, you're going to choke," Derek informed me. His expression was jumping from disgusted to amazed. He seemed very interested with my eating habit.

I finished off the last bit of burger and tossed the wrapper at the garbage. I swear it went in and then it jumped back out. This was why I wasn't first string.

"Even gravity finds you annoying," Derek chuckled.

It was silly, really. It was a typical Derek comment. I shouldn't feel as upset as I did, but after my huge revelation earlier, it just kind of knocked the happy out of me. I didn't think that one person could have so much control over my emotions. Derek did though, and the off-the-cuff comment kind of felt like a fist in the gut. And god, I sounded like such a girl.

"Hey, Stiles." Derek said, frowning a little. "It was a joke."

"Yeah, a joke." I forced a chuckle along with a fake smile. I stared at the carpet so I didn't have to look at Derek. I could hear him get up from his chair and walk over to me. He grabbed my shoulders and leaned in a little, trying to catch my gaze.

"Hey." He shook me a bit. "Look at me." I hesitantly glanced up. "It was a joke. Why are you so upset?" Derek looked worried, but also upset, not at me, but at himself.

I heard the front door open and someone begin to head upstairs. I knew it was Scott, mainly because I knew my dad was never home this early, but I realized now that Scott moved in a completely different way than my dad or Derek. Derek shook me again, and my eyes drifted back to his face, it was so close. I couldn't help but tilt my head up and lean in, placing a short, sweet and simple kiss to Derek's lips before quickly pulling back.

We were back to just staring at each other, Derek's hands still on my shoulders, when Scott flung the door open. I slowly pulled away from Derek glancing between him and Scott.

Scott looked beyond confused. Derek on the other hand seemed shocked, as if his brain was still processing what I'd done.

Scott looked from me to Derek and back to me. He took in a breath, and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. His gaze shot sharply to mine.

"What the hell's going on?"


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Alone

**Rating: T**

**Warning: None**

**Summary: Stiles is always there for Scott and Derek, but what can you do when everything you have done still isn't good enough.**

**Sorry it took so long to update. As I said, school has started and I haven't found much time to work on this. As always thank you to VCCV for being my beta. You've been wonderful. Also, I'd like to thank all of the people who reviewed. Everything you guys have said has put a smile on my face.**

Stiles' POV

"What the hell's going on?" Scott continued to look from Derek to me, anger and confusion welling in his eyes. I didn't know what to say or where to start lying. So, I decided to tell Scott the truth.

"Derek made fun of me, and I took it too seriously," I said bluntly. "He was trying to apologize when you walked into the room." I'd told the truth; I'd just left out a few major details.

"So then, what's wrong with him?" Scott nodded towards Derek, who was still standing with his mouth agape.

"I don't know," I answered, shrugging. Scott frowned; he knew something was up, but he also knew I wasn't lying. I was really hoping that he wouldn't push. "How was your day?" I changed the subject.

Scott suspiciously narrowed his eyes at me before answering. "It was okay. I upset Allison."

"What'd you do? I loved him to death, but Scott was pretty predictable. Get him talking about Allison and he tended to forget everything else.

"Told her I couldn't hang out with her because I needed to take care of you," Scott said slowly, looking from me to Derek. Well, changing the subject didn't work. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

"I have to go," Derek blurted out, hastily shoving past Scott to retreat out the door. Deserting bastard. Scott watched Derek take the steps two at a time and then pointedly looked back at me.

"And you're sure nothing else happened with him?" Scott jerked his head toward the door Derek just bolted from.

"Positive. I just made him feel really shitty." I stepped to the window and peered out the curtains. Derek crossed the street, his hands in his pockets, and as soon as he hit the woods, he took off like a shot. A few seconds after he disappeared through the trees, I turned back to Scott.

I could tell he was in no way convinced. However, in a rare moment of empathy, he decided pushing it would only make matters worse. "Well, since I'm here, is there anything you need?"

"No." Right about now, I just wanted to be left alone. My wolf senses were on overload and my brain was whirling with thoughts of Derek. I couldn't think straight, and the agitation in me seemed to make my wolf stir. "You should call Allison; Tell her I'm better. Go hang out with her."

"You sure?" Scott frowned.

"I think I just need a little time to myself. Process everything, you know?" I grinned half-heartedly at him. Good old goofy Stiles to the rescue.

"Okay, if you're positive?" I simply nodded at him. "Thanks!" Scott was nearly beaming as he bounced on his toes then headed for the door.

"See ya. Have fun." I waved as Scott shut the door behind him. His soft footsteps echoed in my ears as he left the house. I walked over to my bed, flopping down face first. Scott and his fair-weathered friendship aside, "What the hell did I just do?" The bed muffled my voice, but not even my fluffy down comforter could hide the whine. I had a feeling that what I did today was going to come back around and bite me in the ass.

Derek's POV

Hours had passed since I left Stiles' house, and I was still pacing from room to empty room, that kiss still clawing at my brain. Less than a second, and my whole world was on its head. His movement was unsure, but his soft lips felt so right; like they were meant to be against mine. In those few seconds, sparks flew and my brain scrambled. Every wall that I put up crumbled down, and for that moment, I felt vulnerable.

But as right as it felt, I couldn't allow myself to get any closer to Stiles. I'd already made his life hell. If it weren't for me, he would have never been put in danger; never become a werewolf. Scott might have done the damage, and the alpha the instigation, but I knew the real fault lay with me. Nothing could change the fact that I could never allow myself to get any closer. I wouldn't let myself do more damage. I didn't want to hurt Stiles; just the thought made me sick to my stomach, but there was nothing else I could do. If I let him in, that would only put him in more danger. He could be used against me. Frustrated, I ground the heels of my hands into my eyes, pushing until I saw sparks.

No. My mind was made up. I'd rather break his heart, make him hate me, than to have him injured and used against me. I know what I have to do, even if it still feels like it's wrong. The thought of breaking his heart and making him hate me made me nauseous. It physically hurts, because I love everything about him.

His goofy smile; how he gets nervous whenever he's around me; his laugh the smell of fruit from the gum in his pocket and the cheap cologne he wears. Everything about him drives me crazy.

Furious with myself, with Scott, with the alpha, with the whole damned situation, I heaved the coffee table into the wall. This was going to be harder for me than I initially thought. I needed him to be safe. I needed him to be okay without me. But, that meant he had to be taught how to protect himself.

"Dammit!"

_Scott, tomorrow you and Stiles come out. We'd better start training him._


End file.
